INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Pakistan&s parliament will convene on Friday to take up a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, the lower house speaker&s
office said on Sunday, in what shapes up as his toughest test since coming to power in 2018.An alliance of opposition parties filed the
motion against Khan this month, saying he had lost his parliamentary majority after over a dozen defections from his party, raising the risk
of political turmoil in the nuclear-armed South Asian country, Reuters reported.Under the constitution, the speaker of the lower house of
parliament is required to convene the session within 14 days of receiving the motion, which would fall on Monday.But a statement from the
speaker&s office said the date was pushed back several days because of a conference of Islamic countries in Islamabad scheduled for March
23.The opposition accuses Khan of mismanaging the economy and foreign policy
No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed his full term in office.The loss of dissident lawmakers has left Khan about a dozen seats
less than the minimum & 172 & needed for a majority
The joint opposition commands 163 seats in the lower house, but could build a majority if most of the defectors effectively join its ranks
via a no-confidence vote.The opposition and political analysts also say Khan has fallen out with Pakistan&s powerful military, whose support
is critical for any party to attain power in the way the former cricket star&s upstart party did four years ago.Khan and the military deny
the accusation.The post Pakistan parliament to convene this week for no-confidence move against PM Khan first appeared on Ariana News.
